A Given
by padfoot092
Summary: Katniss has survived her very first reaping, but two weeks later she is still shaken, unable to even get a good night's sleep. The only way Katniss can ease her anxiety is if Gale accepts the bargain she plans to offer him. One shot.


A Given

"Gale?"

Katniss treaded through the woods lightly, an arrow notched and ready to be loosed. Small as she was at the age of twelve, it was easy for her to navigate as though she wasn't making a sound. This along with her hunting ability, she took great pride in.

"Gale?" she said again, her voice soft. Just where had he run off to? She was particularly anxious on that hot summer day, her skinny arms shaking.

"Hey, Katniss," said a voice from behind.

Katniss yelped and whirled around with her bow pointed. Halfway through the turn, she'd realized that the voice she'd heard was Gale's. Sure enough, there he stood before her upon completing the turn.

Gale laughed. "Going to take me home for your mother and Prim?" he asked, indicating the arrow she still had pointed at him.

"Food is food, Gale," Katniss said with a scowl. She lowered her bow. "Besides, you're big. I bet you're worth more than those squirrels we found yesterday."

Gale laughed. That was often how he reacted to her feistiness. He said she had an awfully smart mouth for such a tiny little thing. Admittedly, they were an odd pair. Katniss young and underfed, looked rather comical next to Gale, who'd already hit puberty and a massive growth spurt.

"That's no way to talk here in District Twelve. I promise once we're both in the Hunger Games I'll let you eat me then, just because the Capitol would hate it," said Gale, with a satisfied smirk at the thought of angering the Capitol.

Katniss felt a flower of fear bloom in her chest. They often made jokes about the Games in passing the way he just had, but she hadn't quite felt like herself lately. The joke only made her feel worse. "Where were you anyway?" Katniss asked, changing the subject.

"Ran ahead. Thought I saw something," said Gale. He shook his head regrettably. "I guess it got away."

"It's been a slow day for both of us," Katniss said. She was about to suggest they stop for the day, but not just because game was hard to find. She needed Gale today more than she normally did, to talk to him about something important.

But Gale nodded toward the woods. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

Katniss followed him, her heart still pounding from the shock of his sudden appearance earlier. She shook her head furiously. _Cut it out, _she scolded herself. The annual reaping had happened _two weeks ago _today, but try as she might, Katniss couldn't shake off her nerves. Maybe it was because it had been her very first reaping and her name was already in the pool four times. Maybe it was because she was dealing with the fact that it was now about a year since her father's death, but she'd been a nervous wreck as of late.

But no, Katniss knew the truth. The truth was the reaping had scared her out of her wits, and she still hadn't recovered. When Effie had pulled out that stupid piece of paper and read the name, Katniss had nearly collapsed right there in front of all of District 12.

_Katherine Evans. _That was the female tribute selected, but upon hearing Effie say _Kat, _Katniss had been certain for one terrifying moment that she was going to be sent into the arena. It had been such a horrible, awful split second, where she'd immediately thought of her mother and poor Prim. Katniss didn't have so much value on her own life to become this distraught over nearly being reaped, but Prim couldn't survive without her. Katniss would never let anything happen to her little sister. Not Prim. Never Prim. _What if I'm reaped next year? Or the year after that? _This thought, that she would have to risk leaving her sister behind for the next five years, had kept Katniss waking up periodically each night, tossing and turning. Who would protect Prim then? She couldn't trust her mother to do it, didn't _want _to trust the woman she hated.

"Gale!" Katniss cried.

He turned around to face her again. "What is it?" he asked, confused at her outburst. It wasn't like Katniss to cry out like that.

Katniss bit her lip. Words weren't her specialty. Hunters had no use for talking. She stammered, "I—I've just been thinking…um, ever since the reaping…"

Gale raised his eyebrows. "Out with it, Catnip," he said.

"If I ever go into the arena," she said, then she added quickly, "or if you ever..." She paused, carefully considering her words. She needed Gale to know that he would benefit from this as well, because if she only talked about her own family then what would he have to gain from this request? She sighed in frustration, forced to start from the beginning. "You know, if you ever go into the arena, Gale, I will take care of your family. I would feed them, provide for them. They wouldn't go hungry as long as I'm around."

She waited for his gray eyes to light up, for him to laugh at her. But he didn't. He nodded his head, taking her seriously. Katniss raised her chin proudly. Gale trusted her as a hunter, relied on her.

"I know you will," he said, giving her shoulder a playful nudge. He started to turn away again, but Katniss grabbed his arm.

"And if I ever go in, will you protect my family?" Katniss asked.

Gale furrowed his brow in confusion, looking at her blankly. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Katniss scowled. "I'm asking you to take care of my mother and Prim if I ever have to compete in the Hunger Games! Just like I would do the same for you. It's a bargain. Do you agree to it?"

Gale shook his head. "No, no, Katniss. That's not what I'm asking. I'm confused because, well, I thought that was a given," he said with a shrug.

"A given?"

"Yeah, I mean if you were ever reaped, it wouldn't even be a question of whether or not I'd step in for your family. You don't have to bargain with me or whatever. It's just a given, and I figured it was just a given that you would be there for my family if I was reaped."

This was a concept Katniss never could quite grasp. Kindness. It was just a given, because Gale was a decent person. It had never occurred to Katniss that she hadn't needed to make sure Gale would protect her family. It had never occurred to her that he had already planned to do this.

"It's a given," Katniss repeated his words. "Because that's what friends would do…and we're friends."

In the beginning, they'd joined together to become hunting partners. They'd never actually acknowledged their friendship before. Gale laughed again. "You're so weird today," he said, but there was affection in his voice. He playfully shoved her. "Yes, we're friends, stupid."

Again, it had never occurred to her that friendship was also just a given. It was nice to know that he was her friend. Gale was a good friend to have, and she didn't mean just for practical reasons like hunting. She actually enjoyed his company quite a lot which, in her mind, was a huge compliment. Katniss rarely enjoyed being around other people. She glared and shoved him back. He hardly budged, gave her braid a tug. "Ready to hunt some more, Catnip?" he asked.

Katniss grinned and nodded. "Yeah…and Gale, thanks," she said.

They set out into the woods and after a slow start, ended up leaving with a decent amount of game. Katniss didn't even realize until they made their way back to the other side of the fence into the district that her anxiety was gone. She didn't have to worry about what would happen to Prim if she was gone. In fact she hadn't even had to worry herself sick the way she had for two weeks over whether or not her sister would be safe. It had just been a given all along.


End file.
